# Minnesota Department of Human Services *Cabinet-level executive agency of the State of Minnesota* The **Minnesota Department of Human Services** (DHS) is a cabinet-level agency of the [[Minnesota]] executive branch. It administers three of the state's main public-assistance programs: the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program; Medical Assistance, which is Minnesota's Medicaid program; and the Minnesota Family Investment Program, the state's vehicle for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.[^1] Its other duties include child-support enforcement and child protection. Through Minnesota Direct Care and Treatment, it also serves people with mental illness, developmental disabilities, or chemical dependency.[^1] Wikipedia's October 2026 revision puts the department's budget above $40 billion. By that account, it is the largest state agency in both budget and staff.[^1] On January 14, 2026, the [[United States Department of Justice]] sued the State in [[United States v. State of Minnesota (0:26-cv-00273)]] in the District of Minnesota.[^2] The complaint is brought under [[Title VII]] of the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]] and cites [[Minn. Stat. § 43A.191]] eight times.[^2] DOJ announced the suit in release No. 26-21, *United States Department of Justice Files Lawsuit Against Minnesota's 'Affirmative Action' Regime*. In that release, Attorney General Pamela Bondi certified the case as a matter of general public importance.[^3] The project's claim:link catalogue lists DHS as an institutional defendant in the case.[^4] DHS houses the [[Refugee Resettlement Programs Office]], which publishes a refugee arrival map.[^5] The [[Minnesota Department of Health]] recorded 1,123 primary refugee arrivals in Hennepin County in calendar 2023. It recorded 971 in Ramsey County and 169 in Stearns County.[^6] ## History DHS dates from 1983. In that year, the state's Department of Public Welfare was merged into its Medicaid agency and hospital system.[^1] ## DHS Split A 2023 act of the [[Minnesota Legislature]] divided the department's responsibilities among a reduced DHS and two newly created agencies.[^1] One of the new agencies is Minnesota Direct Care and Treatment. It took over the state hospitals for people with mental illness or developmental and intellectual disabilities, along with the state's sex-offender program.[^1] The other is the Minnesota Department of Children, Youth and Families, which took responsibility for adoption, child protection and related family services.[^1] The sources cited here do not record the vote or the party alignment behind the 2023 act. ## In the Minnesota record ### Who - The project's catalogue of validated claim:link pairs lists DHS as an institutional defendant in No. 0:26-cv-00273. This appears under its Title VII disparate-treatment theory and its Fourteenth Amendment equal-protection theory.[^4] The catalogue also lists the agency under its Title VI, civil RICO, procedural due process, institutional-capture and refugee-resettlement theories.[^4] These are the project's analytic categories, not counts pleaded in the complaint.[^2] ### What - The DOJ complaint invokes Minn. Stat. § 43A.191, including subdivision 3(c). That provision requires an agency to explain its reason for hiring a non-affirmative candidate.[^2] The complaint states what the United States alleges. The sources cited here document no ruling or other disposition.[^2] - The United States' own term for the State's apparatus is the phrase in the release's title, "Minnesota's 'Affirmative Action' Regime".[^3] The project's catalogue of U.S.-government "regime" usages finds no other U.S. state so described.[^3] - DHS presents itself through its institutional homepage[^7] and through an About DHS page that carries the agency's policies.[^8] ### When - 1983: DHS is formed from the Department of Public Welfare, the state Medicaid agency and the hospital system.[^1] - 2023: The Legislature enacts the law dividing DHS into three agencies.[^1] - January 14, 2026: The complaint in No. 0:26-cv-00273 is filed in the District of Minnesota.[^2] DOJ issues release No. 26-21 on the same day.[^3] ### Where - The Department of Health's *2023 Refugee Health Report* records the following primary refugee arrivals for calendar 2023: 169 in Stearns County, 1,123 in Hennepin County and 971 in Ramsey County. It places Stearns County among the state's top destinations for secondary arrivals, meaning people who move to Minnesota after first being resettled elsewhere.[^6] - The project's research dossier describes the DHS Refugee Resettlement Programs Office as the state custodian that administers placement together with voluntary resettlement agencies. The office's own arrival-map page is the source cited for that description.[^5] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia, *Minnesota Department of Human Services* (revision 1368463942, retrieved 2026-10-26) — the agency's programs, budget, 1983 founding, and 2023 division. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota_Department_of_Human_Services [^2]: U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, *Complaint, United States v. State of Minnesota*, No. 0:26-cv-00273 (D. Minn. filed Jan. 14, 2026) — Title VII action; cites Minn. Stat. § 43A.191 eight times, including subd. 3(c). https://www.justice.gov/crt/media/1423361/dl [^3]: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs, *United States Department of Justice Files Lawsuit Against Minnesota's 'Affirmative Action' Regime*, release No. 26-21 (Jan. 14, 2026) — announcement of the suit; Attorney General Bondi's certification of general public importance. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/united-states-department-justice-files-lawsuit-against-minnesotas-affirmative-action-regime [^4]: Project claim:link catalogue, pairs 33 (Theory 1), 41 (Theory 2), 65 (Theory 4), 88 (Theory 9), 45 (Theory 12), 69 (Theory 13), 31 (T15) — lists DHS as institutional defendant or institution; the paired URL is the agency homepage. https://mn.gov/dhs/ [^5]: Minnesota Department of Human Services, Refugee Resettlement Programs Office, *Arrival map* — the office's arrival-map page, cited in the project dossier for the office's placement role. https://mn.gov/dhs/resettlement/news-reports-updates/arrival-map/ [^6]: Minnesota Department of Health, *2023 Refugee Health Report* — calendar-2023 primary refugee arrivals by county; Stearns County among the top secondary-arrival destinations. https://www.health.state.mn.us/communities/rih/stats/23rhrpt.pdf [^7]: Minnesota Department of Human Services, *Agency homepage* — institutional self-presentation. https://mn.gov/dhs/ [^8]: Minnesota Department of Human Services, *About DHS* (policies page) — the agency's published policies page. https://mn.gov/dhs/general-public/about-dhs/